Deere & Company is launching the Startup Collaborator program in its Intelligent Solutions Group to enhance and deepen its interaction with startup companies whose technology could add value for John Deere customers.

“Our focus for the Startup Collaborator is specifically on startups that want to work with John Deere in real-world customer environments to determine the technology readiness of their innovations,” said John Stone, senior vice president of Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group.

Stone said the Startup Collaborator provides flexibility for Deere and startup companies to test innovative technologies with customers and dealers without a more formal business relationship. Startups also gain affiliation with and mentoring from a world leader in precision agriculture.

“Innovation has been at the heart of John Deere for more than 180 years,” Stone added. “The Startup Collaborator welcomes innovative companies into a program that could help us drive improved results for our customers.”

Three leading startups working to transform agriculture are already part of the program:

• Hello Tractor - A Nigerian company with a strong understanding of agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa that has developed an application to manage tractor fleets for small holder farmers.

• Taranis – An Israeli company that developed an automated field scouting service based on sub-millimeter aerial imagery utilizing deep learning for problem detection and analysis in agriculture.

Farmlogs unveils first-of-its-kind AutoHedge App

FarmLogs today announced the release of AutoHedge , a first-of-its-kind grain marketing app that offers corn and soybean growers a simple and effective way to sell their bushels. Based on proven hedging strategies developed by analyzing over 20 years of corn and
soybean prices, AutoHedge helps farmers easily market their grain while eliminating guesswork, brokerage accounts with margin calls, and the stress that comes with marketing a crop. The
program has outperformed the average corn harvest price by at least $0.25 for the past five
years.
Available now for Android and iOS, the free mobile app enables growers to enroll a percentage of their crop to be marketed from February 28 through July 31, when prices are historically at
their best. The AutoHedge app works by automatically pricing enrolled bushels on each trading
day during the pricing window, so growers can stay focused on farming while knowing AutoHedge is making them money.
An optional Boost feature allows growers to take advantage of market rallies by pricing additional
bushels whenever they like with the push of a button in their app. Unlike traditional grain contracts, AutoHedge also removes the work of tracking profitability by automatically updating a user’s marketing position within their FarmLogs account.
Growers can create an AutoHedge account by downloading the app from the App Store or the Google Play Store . Those who have an existing FarmLogs account can sign in to the AutoHedge
app using their FarmLogs username and password. AutoHedge seamlessly integrates with FarmLogs to help growers monitor their overall profitability as the season progresses. To get more information, check out AutoHedgegrain.com.

John Deere earns six AE50 awards

John Deere was presented with six AE50 Awards for outstanding innovations that improve production agriculture. Each year the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) recognizes 50 of the most innovative product-engineering designs in the food and agriculture industry, with its AE50 Awards, as chosen by international engineering experts.

Award winners were recognized for ingenuity in product development, and for saving producers time, costs and labor while improving safety.
CommandPro was released in August 2018 and is a customizable, ergonomic, multi-function control lever that operators can use to control tractor speed, direction and implement functions. CommandPro is available on John Deere 6R Series Tractors.

Introduced last June, the Bale Mobile app helps hay and forage producers get detailed information, improve efficiency, identify bale characteristics and track yields to make decision making easier. Bale Mobile was designed to allow tractor operators to see their information in near real time while it documents the baling process.

A true multi-season machine, the 2660VT features an adjustable gang angle design and all-new frame to place the right amount of weight per blade to handle a wide range of soil, crop residue and field conditions. Introduced last summer, the 2660VT can be operated at speeds up to 10 miles (16 km) per hour and is versatile enough to meet tillage needs of farmers in the spring or fall.

Three of the 2019 AE50 Awards John Deere received were for harvesting solutions. These included the redesigned suspension track system for S-Series Combines, 700FD HydraFlex Draper and a Machine Performance app.

Combines equipped with the new track system can be driven up to nearly 25 mph (40 kph), reducing transport time between fields. The angled, wider and taller tread bar design of the new tracks improve traction, balance and ride comfort while extending tread life.

Customers, can use The MyOperations™ app to view and adjust their John Deere S700 Series Combine from their mobile phone from anywhere at any time, making combine operation more efficient. Possible adjustments include: rotor speed, concave clearance, fan speed, chaffer clearance and sieve clearance. Introduced in May 2018, the Gen 4 CommandCenter Machine Performance app on the S700’s display, paired with JDLink™ Connect, enables this functionality.

The new 700FD HydraFlex Draper now comes standard with a dual-position drum. This allows the operator to select an upper or lower setting, equivalent to a 40.6-cm (16-in.) drum and 35.6-cm (14-in.) drum, respectively. All 700FD Draper Platforms ship from the factory with the drum in the 40.6-cm (16-in.) position, which is the standard position. For bushy crops, such as canola, putting the drum in the upper position will allow a greater throughput.

Corteva Agriscience has announced the launch of a new above-ground nitrogen stabilizer. Farmers can now maximize their above-ground nitrogen with the new PinnitMax™ nitrogen stabilizer and help ensure urea and UAN applications get into the root zone. PinnitMax™ is available for purchase in the U.S. for spring 2019 applications. PinnitMax™ joins N-Serve® and Instinct® nitrogen stabilizers in Corteva Agriscience’s existing nitrogen maximizer portfolio. The addition to the nitrogen maximizers portfolio will strengthen Corteva Agriscience’s global leadership position in nitrogen management.

“PinnitMax addresses the need for better handling with above-ground nitrogen stabilizers,” says Tina Troester, Nitrogen Management Specialist, Corteva Agriscience. “There are many urease inhibitor products on the market and some of the most popular products in the category can be difficult to handle. Corteva Agriscience brings to market a new solution that’s user-friendly, powerful and rounds out the nitrogen maximizer portfolio for comprehensive protection of any nitrogen source above- and below-ground.”

PinnitMax™ prevents volatilization of urea and UAN applications for up to 14 days, helping to ensure the nitrogen gets into the root zone for optimum crop uptake.

The most powerful, gallon-for-gallon, above-ground urease inhibitor with an ultra-low use rate.

Simple blending, free-flowing applications and effortless cleanup—freeing up labor and processing time for a more efficient operation.

The active ingredient, NBPT (N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide).

PinnitMax™ complements the existing nitrogen maximizers portfolio from Corteva Agriscience by providing above-ground nitrogen protection in addition to the two below-ground nitrogen stabilizers, N-Serve® and Instinct®. All fertilizer types can be protected with this portfolio: PinnitMax™ for above-ground urea and UAN applications, N-Serve® for below-ground anhydrous ammonia applications and Instinct® for below-ground urea, UAN and manure applications.

For more than a decade, thousands of farmers across the country have utilized Roundup Ready PLUS® Crop Management Solutions for weed control recommendations and incentives to utilize residual herbicides as part of an integrated weed management system. Bayer announced today a more robust, and simplified, Roundup Ready PLUS program for the 2019 season.

Bayer has made a concerted effort to simplify the program, breaking the incentives down into a three-step process, allowing growers to control weeds and cash-in on easy-to-earn incentives.

Step 3: Growers can earn up to $2/acre for purchasing additional herbicides or crop protection products, such as XtendiMax® herbicide with VaporGrip® Technology.

“Growers trust Roundup Ready PLUS to provide high performing weed management recommendations and valuable incentives,” said Scott Burchette, Bayer Crop Protection Systems Lead. “Growers have a lot of choices to make, and this simplified Roundup Ready PLUS program makes it easier to choose the right products and the right incentives.”

New to the platform this year, Bayer will be adding additional products from their crop protection portfolio, including herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and plant growth regulators.

“Through Roundup Ready PLUS, growers and retailers will have the opportunity to experience Bayer’s portfolio firsthand,” said Robert Schrick, Bayer Strategic Business Lead. “By combining Bayer’s expansive crop protection portfolio with Roundup brand agricultural herbicides and XtendiMax herbicide brand, Bayer can offer growers great products and a full farm solution in way that we couldn’t before.”

Roundup Ready PLUS Crop Management Solutions was developed in conjunction with leading academics and industry partners to help farmers improve their weed control, especially tough-to-manage and glyphosate resistant weeds. The Roundup Ready PLUS website includes an incentive calculator, as well as weed management recommendations by crop. To see a full list of eligible products, or for more information about the Roundup Ready PLUS program, visit RoundupReadyPLUS.com.